Toolkit for shaping a malleable compound

ABSTRACT

A toolkit for shaping a malleable compound. The kit including at least one of the following implements, (a) a plunger for slidable insertion into a cutter with a plurality of walls, wherein the cutter includes an interior space and the cutter is positioned atop a base; (b) a floor panel with a plurality of walls, at least one of the walls rotatably connected to the floor panel; and (c) a box having a base and a plurality of walls, wherein a plurality of guide slots are disposed within opposing walls for receiving the blade of a saw.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/632,332, filed Feb. 19, 2018, and incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a kit for the shaping of objects from a malleable compound.

BACKGROUND

A malleable compound (e.g., “Mad Mattr®” from Waba Fun Inc.) makes an enjoyable toy for children (and adults). The compound retains its shape after manipulation. The compound can be precisely shaped using the implements from the kit disclosed herein. Disclosed herein is a kit of implements for forming, and as desired, imprinting shapes onto the malleable compound to facilitate interconnectivity with other toy bricks.

SUMMARY

Plastic modeling compounds used by children and adults for art and craft projects continue to be extremely popular. Developing shapes that are aesthetically appealing continues to hold widespread appeal to a large segment of the population and in particular young people. Disclosed herein is a kit for shaping of plastic modeling compounds (hereinafter “malleable compounds”) into aesthetically pleasing forms with the aid of various implements.

The kit includes at least one of the following implements (a) a plunger for slidable insertion into a cutter with a plurality of walls, wherein the cutter includes an interior space and the cutter is positioned atop a base; (b) a floor panel with a plurality of walls, at least one of the walls rotatably connected to the floor panel; and (c) a box having a base and a plurality of walls, wherein a plurality of guide slots are disposed within opposing walls for receiving a saw blade.

In one embodiment, a toolkit shapes a malleable compound. The toolkit including at least one of the following implements: (a) a plunger for slidable insertion into a cutter with a plurality of walls, wherein the cutter includes an interior space and the cutter is positioned atop a base; (b) a floor panel with a plurality of walls, at least one of the walls rotatably connected to the floor panel; and (c) a box having a base and a plurality of walls, wherein a plurality of guide slots are disposed within opposing walls that receive a saw blade.

In another embodiment, a toolkit shapes a toy brick from a malleable compound. The kit including at least one of the following: (a) a base, a cutter and a plunger, wherein the malleable compound is positioned within an interior space of the cutter and when under pressure from the plunger the malleable compound flows into the shape and acquires a pattern dictated by the contours of the interior space of the cutter as well as a lower plate of the plunger and an imprint surface atop the base portion; (b) a floor panel with a plurality of walls, at least one of the walls hingedly connected to only the floor panel; and (c) a box further comprising a floor and a plurality of vertically extending walls, wherein vertical guide slots are disposed within the walls used in combination with a saw to cut the malleable compound toy brick disposed within the miter box at specified locations thereby providing a cut at a desired angle across the toy brick. The malleable compound toy brick may be stacked atop toy bricks to form a structure.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. The contents of this summary section are provided only as a simplified introduction to the disclosure, and are not intended to be used to limit the scope of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toolkit for shaping a malleable compound with various embodiments of the three implements disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the first implement of the toolkit of FIG. 1 for forming a malleable compound;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an embodiment of a cutter;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a cutter;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the first implement in an operational configuration;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an embodiment of the second implement for forming a malleable compound with the walls in a folded down configuration;

FIG. 5B is a perspective view of an embodiment of the second implement for forming a malleable compound with the walls in a folded up configuration;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the second implement in an operational configuration;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of various embodiments of the third implement disclosed herein for molding a malleable compound; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the third implement in an operational configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is of various exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the present disclosure in any way. Rather, the following description is intended to provide a convenient illustration for implementing various embodiments including the best mode. As will become apparent, various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described in these embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims

Disclosed herein, and shown in full complement in FIG. 1 is a kit 10 containing several implements for use in producing a plurality of shapes of a malleable compound 11. The kit as disclosed herein is preferably used for shaping toy bricks 12 from the malleable compound; however, the disclosure herein is directed to a kit 10 for producing any product capable of being produced from the malleable compound. The shaped product may or may not be textured or include protrusions to facilitate stacking and interlocking with other like sized toy bricks 12 of either similar or dissimilar material to form a structure.

As seen in FIG. 2, the first implement 14 of the kit 10 comprises a plunger 16 for slidable insertion into a cutter 18 with a plurality of walls 20, wherein the cutter 18 includes an interior space 22 and the cutter 18 is positioned atop a base 24. The plunger 16 is configured with an upper plate 26, a stem portion 28 with a main chord 30 and lateral stiffeners 32 as well as a lower plate 34 that may optionally include protrusions or a pattern 36 on the bottom surface 37 for embossing a texture or functional features onto an upper surface of the malleable compound 11 that is positioned within the interior space 22 of the cutter 18. The upper plate 26 of the plunger 16 terminates at and extends outwardly from an upper end 40 of the main chord 30 and lateral stiffeners 32 and prevents the plunger 16 from being wholly swallowed by the interior space 22 of the cutter 18.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the cutter walls 20 may optionally be either linear 42 or arcuate 44 depending upon the configuration of the toy brick 12 that is desired. The plunger 16 lower plate 34 is shaped consistent with the configuration of the walls 20 of the cutter 18. As previously noted, the lower plate 34 of the plunger 16 is configured for insertion into the interior space 22 of the cutter 18. The lower plate 34 fills a cross section of the interior space 22. The edges 48 of the lower plate 34, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, are closely mated with the interior surfaces 50 of the plurality of walls 20 of the cutter. This close mating of the edges 48 of the lower plate 34 and the interior surfaces 50 of the walls 20 of the cutter 18 prevent seepage of the malleable compound 11 past the nominal gap between the edges 48 and the interior surface 50 as a downward force is applied to the plunger placing the malleable compound 11 under pressure.

As seen in FIG. 4, the third component of the first implement 14 is the base 24. A lower edge 56 of the cutter 18 rests atop the base 24 and is oriented and positioned with the assistance of a jig 58. The jig 58 may take on many forms; however, a preferred embodiment utilizes a raised ridge 59 to lock the cutter into position. The base 24 utilizes protrusions 60 for shaping the bottom surface of the malleable compound disposed within the interior space 22 of the cutter 18. The lower edge 56 of the cutter 18 may, for example, be aligned with the base 54 with the aid of a nub 62 and slot 64 to precisely register the cutter 18 atop the base 54.

In one example of operation, a user places the cutter 18 atop the base 54 using the previously detailed alignment and registration nub 62 and slot 64. Next, the user places a quantity of malleable compound into the interior space 22 of the cutter 18. The lower plate 34 of the plunger 16 is inserted into the interior space 22 and atop the malleable compound. The user then applies manual pressure to the upper plate 26 of the plunger driving the plunger 16 downwardly until all air pockets within the malleable compound are driven from the quantity of malleable material.

Once the quantity of malleable compound is sufficiently compressed the malleable compound completely fills the interior space 22 bounded by the plurality of walls 20 as well as the lower plate 34 of the plunger 16 on the upper end and the base 56 on the lower end. Importantly, the protrusions 36, or alternatively the textured features on the lower plate 34 of the plunger will emboss the surface of the malleable material. In addition, the pattern 58 with protrusions 60 on the base 56 will emboss the opposite side of the malleable material to create the desired features.

As seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the second implement 76 of the kit 10 comprises a floor panel 78 with a plurality of walls 80, 82, 84 and 86 with at least one of, but preferably all of the walls rotatably connected to the floor panel 78. Specifically, the walls are hingedly connected to the floor panel 78 by a thin strip 79 of the material used in the fabrication of the second implement 76. The thin strip 79 is flexible thereby allowing the walls to be readily rotated from a position where the wall is coplanar with the floor panel 78 to a position the wall is perpendicular to the floor panel 78. When the walls are perpendicular to the floor panel the end edges 90 of each wall come into contact with the end edge 90 of the adjacent wall. When the walls are all in a raised position, i.e., perpendicular to the floor panel 78 an interior basin 92 is formed. The floor panel 78 as well as the walls 80, 82, 84, 86 preferably include features 94, 95 for transferring a texture or a pattern to the malleable compound. As shown in FIG. 6, a separate and unattached panel member 96 with textured or patterned features 98 on at least one side is utilized to texturize or pattern the upper surface of the malleable compound when it is positioned within the basin 92 of the second implement 76.

In one example of operation, and as seen in FIG. 6, a quantity of malleable compound 11 is placed within the basin 92 atop the floor panel 78. To form the basin 92 all of the associated walls 80, 82, 84 and 86 must be in a raised position and the end edges 90 of each wall are in contact with the end edge 90 of the adjacent wall. This can typically be accomplished by the fingers of the user holding the walls in position. The quantity of malleable compound 11 is preferably sufficient to fill the basin 92 to roughly just below the top edges 102 of the walls. Next, the side of the unattached panel member 96 that is textured or patterned 98 is placed atop the malleable compound and downward manual pressure is applied to the opposite side of the panel member 96. The panel member 96 shown in FIG. 6 is inverted in practice thereby placing the features 98 atop the malleable compound 11.

Increasing manual pressure applied to the quantity of malleable compound through the panel member 96 expels any air pockets formed within the space occupied by the malleable compound 11 within the basin 92 and allows the compound to come fully into contact with the walls 80, 82, 84, 86 and the floor panel 78. The downward manual pressure also forces the texturing or patterning of the walls into the surfaces of the malleable compound.

Once the air pockets are expelled from the malleable compound 11, the unattached panel member 96 is removed from the upper surface of the malleable compound 11 and the walls 80, 82, 84, 86 are rotated downward exposing the shaped and texturized or patterned malleable compound in the desired form, i.e., a toy brick. The shaped compound can then be removed from the floor panel 78 and utilized.

As seen in FIG. 7, the third implement 110 of the kit 10 comprises a box 112 having a horizontal base 114 and a plurality of walls 118, 120, 122, 124, wherein a plurality of guide slots 126 are disposed within opposing walls for receiving the blade 130 of a saw 132. The saw 132 preferably has serrations 134 along the blade 130 to facilitate cutting of the malleable compound 11. In addition, to assist grasping of the saw 132 by the user, a cutout 136 is preferably formed into the blade 130.

The guide slots may be configured, in alternative embodiments 140, to facilitate side to side sawing of the malleable compound or diagonal sawing thereby increasing the options for the final product. This disclosure is not limited to an implement 110 with only four walls as an implement 110 with more than four walls is contemplated herein. Additionally, guide slots 126 that are fully vertical, or in an alternative canted embodiment, are also contemplated by this disclosure. Implements 110 with three sides, five, or more, sides and with the full spectrum of slot angularity provides for a greater variety of malleable compound final configurations. The bottom surface 140 of the open space 142 may also alternatively include features for raising or depressing the surface of the malleable compound.

In one example of operation, and as seen in FIG. 8, a quantity of malleable compound 11 is placed atop the bottom surface 140 of the open space 142. The top surface of the quantity of malleable compound is preferably flattened, or leveled, by manual pressure; however, other instruments may alternatively be employed to level the upper surface. At the same time, manual pressure is applied to the upper surface of the malleable compound to remove air gaps within the malleable compound itself and to force the compound into the corners to eliminate any voids that may exist.

Once the malleable compound fills the open space 142 and is leveled, the user has the option of shaping the compound with the saw 132. The user may elect to cut the compound orthogonally, or diagonally, and places the saw blade 130 into the desired guide slot 126 on each side. The user then applies manual pressure to the saw blade 130 and preferably drawing the saw blade back-and-forth across the malleable compound until the saw blade 130 has reached the bottom surface 140. Once the bottom surface 140 has been reached the saw blade 130 is manually extracted from the malleable compound and the guide slots 126 and the shaped and cut portions within the implement 110 are manually extracted.

Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, the examples, embodiments, geometries, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings. Moreover, the order of the components detailed in the system may be modified without limiting the scope of the disclosure. 

We claim:
 1. A toolkit for shaping a malleable compound, the toolkit comprising at least one of the following implements; (a) a plunger for slidable insertion into a cutter with a plurality of walls, wherein the cutter includes an interior space and the cutter is positioned atop a base; (b) a floor panel with a plurality of walls, at least one of the walls rotatably connected to the floor panel; and (c) a box having a base and a plurality of walls, wherein a plurality of guide slots are disposed within opposing walls that receive a saw blade.
 2. The toolkit for shaping the malleable compound of claim 1, wherein a plate for embossing a pattern onto an upper surface of the malleable compound when the malleable compound is positioned atop the floor panel and between the plurality of walls.
 3. The toolkit for shaping the malleable compound of claim 1, wherein the cutter further comprises at least one arcuate wall.
 4. The toolkit for shaping the malleable compound of claim 3, wherein the plunger further comprises an upper plate and a lower plate, the lower plate for insertion into the interior space of the cutter and for contact with the malleable compound.
 5. The toolkit for shaping the malleable compound of claim 4, wherein the lower plate further comprises at least one curved edge, the curvature of the at least one curved edge consistent with the curvature of the at least one arcuate wall.
 6. The toolkit for shaping the malleable compound of claim 4, wherein the lower plate of the plunger has a top surface and a bottom surface.
 7. The toolkit for shaping the malleable compound of claim 6, wherein the bottom surface of the lower plate of the plunger is configured to emboss an upper surface of the malleable compound positioned within the interior space of the cutter.
 8. The toolkit for shaping the malleable compound of claim 1, wherein an upper surface of the base is configured to emboss a lower surface of the malleable compound positioned within the interior space of the cutter.
 9. A toolkit for shaping a toy brick from a malleable compound, the toolkit comprising at least one of the following; (a) a base, a cutter and a plunger, wherein the malleable compound is positioned within an interior space of the cutter and when under pressure from the plunger the malleable compound flows into the shape and acquires a pattern dictated by contours of the interior space of the cutter as well as a lower plate of the plunger and an imprint surface atop a base portion; (b) a floor panel with a plurality of walls, at least one of the walls hingedly connected to only the floor panel; and (c) a box further comprising a floor and a plurality of vertically extending walls, wherein vertical guide slots are disposed within the walls used in combination with a saw to cut the malleable compound toy brick disposed within the box at specified locations thereby providing a cut at a desired angle across the toy brick; wherein the malleable compound toy brick may be stacked atop toy bricks to form a structure.
 10. The toolkit for shaping the toy brick of claim 9, wherein a patterned plate for embossing a pattern onto an upper surface of the malleable compound is positioned atop the floor panel and between the plurality of walls.
 11. The toolkit for shaping the toy brick of claim 9, wherein the interior space of the cutter is bounded by at least one arcuate wall.
 12. The toolkit for shaping the toy brick of claim 11, wherein the plunger further comprises an upper plate.
 13. The toolkit for shaping the toy brick of claim 12, wherein the lower plate of the plunger further comprises at least one curved edge, the curvature of the at least one curved edge consistent with the curvature of the at least one arcuate wall.
 14. The toolkit for shaping the toy brick of claim 13, wherein the lower plate of the plunger has a top surface and a bottom surface.
 15. The toolkit for shaping the toy brick of claim 14, wherein the bottom surface of the lower plate of the plunger is configured to emboss an upper surface of the malleable compound positioned within the interior space of the cutter.
 16. The toolkit for shaping the toy brick of claim 9, wherein an upper surface of the base portion is configured to emboss a lower surface of the malleable compound positioned within the cutter. 